331.3, plus a little for warmth
Sound has no fixed speed — it borrows one from the air. In dry air the rule is — the speed in m/s, and the air temperature in °C. Careful with that letter: last lesson was a period in seconds, and here it is a temperature. The formula tells you which. So 331.3 m/s on a freezing day, and about six-tenths of a metre per second more for every degree above. Room temperature lands near 343 m/s. Warmer molecules pass the message faster — that is the whole story.
Then the classic exam wound: the echo. A shout that bounces off a cliff crosses the gap TWICE — out and back — so the wall stands at , never , with the one-way distance in metres and the whole out-and-back time in seconds. Thunder is the opposite trap: the lightning's flash arrives essentially instantly, the rumble makes the trip once, and no ÷2 is invited. Read the journey before you divide.
- = Speed of sound (speed)
- = Air temperature (temperature)
- = Speed (speed)
- = Distance (length)
- = Time (time)